


It's Not About How Strong You Are

by Firethebluesky



Category: My Time At Portia (Video Game)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Slow Build, Worth It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-11-12 16:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18014534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firethebluesky/pseuds/Firethebluesky
Summary: She's the new kid in town with a taste for adventure and tall, bearded men.





	It's Not About How Strong You Are

My dearest Beatrice,

Today is your twenty-first birthday (congratulations!). It astounds me to know just how old you've become. I'm getting so old! I know, though, that now it is a day tainted with sadness, by me. I have a tendency to cause such things. It's sad for you, because it is also the five year anniversary of the day I left you in Barnarock so I could follow the life of an adventurer. How do I know, you're surely asking. You'd be right in guessing Kendra. Please don't be mad at your Aunt Kendra for writing to me- she did it out of love. I know you hate me for leaving, and I don't blame you. I'm writing to you today from beyond the Peripheries, from a place I don't know if my letter will reach you from. I certainly hope it does - I have so much I want to say that I couldn't before. You deserve an explanation for why I left.

You and I both know I'm not one for staying too long in one place. I made that exception, once for Clara, your mother. A lovely thing, she was, with golden hair and eyes like the summer sky. I was in love the moment I laid my eyes on her. I had moved into the tiniest little shack on the outskirts of town three years prior, and had built up a solid livelihood and reputation in those years. By Portian standards, I was quite wealthy, both in money and friendship. The day she and her family arrived in town was the brightest day off my life. I walked into town one day, and there she stood, the smallest, prettiest woman I'd ever seen, cowed by her father and sister, Carol. The sun hit her face just so, and she stood on the balls of her feet, like a bird ready for flight. I took one look and was in love.

It took her much longer to come to the same conclusion that my lovestruck heart had that day. Six years, it took her. But she came around in the end. I know she would. We dated for a year, then married under one of the great oak trees by Bassanio Falls. Only a year later, she blessed me with you. We were so happy, Beatrice. So happy. I thought we'd be forever together, Clara and Beatrice, my girls.

Not six months after you were born, Clara was struck with a terrible illness. Medicine was nowhere as advanced as it is today, and the doctor resident could do nothing. I sat by her bedside in the clinic, watching her life and beauty waste away before my very eyes. I watched her eyes lose their luster, her skin turn grey, her lips turn blue. Carol and her fiance took you in while I stayed with Clara. I never left her side, not even after she whispered her last breath and left this world.

I'll never forget the despair I felt the day she died. The sadness, the loneliness, the emptiness. The world seemed to go grey, just like Clara had. I mourned for months, letting my life fall into shambles. There was such resolution in my mind when I decided I couldn't bring myself to stay there any longer, not in the place she loved so dearly. Don't get me wrong- I love Portia. But when you lose the one you love the most, the world just fades away into black and white. I thought, maybe, just maybe, travel would help bring color back into my life, help me find my place in the world again.

We left Portia nearly two years after we put your beautiful mother in the ground. I remember that day as well, too well, almost: a short, small ceremony, it was, with only you and I, Presley, Carol, and her fiance Mars in attendance. Carol held you the entire time, for I couldn't- I was trembling too much and would've dropped you or crushed you. Afterwards, at home, I packed up our measly belongings, leaving behind anything that would be unnecessary in a life of adventure. Clara and I never did own much in that tiny workshop we called a home, which made packing a short job.

Presley was the only one who accompanied us to the docks. Now, Presley's never been one for tears, but it killed him to say goodbye to you, little one. You were like the daughter he never had. For a moment, a very selfish moment, I debated leaving you there. You'd have a home, a family, a life full of people who loved you. I knew you'd be safe and cared for. In that moment, I could picture what a burden you would be on my travels, your youth and health a constant impediment.

But I couldn't bring myself to leave you behind. Just as selfishly, I needed you. I needed you as my companion, my friend in place of the ones I was losing by leaving. I said goodbye and left without looking back, so I wouldn't be tempted to go running back and give up on my new dreams.

You were just a tot then, too young to remember anything about the journey, a tiny thing with no clue what was happening. You just loved the boats, the water, the gentle rocking on the waves. I think it reminded you of your mother, and how she used to rock you to sleep every night.

We landed first in the forests of Walnut Groove, spent a year or so there before moving south to Tallsky. Now that was a sight! Mountains taller than anything you'd ever seen before, with cities built right on top of them! Houses dangled from chains off the sides of great cliffs, windows looking out to open sky and colored mist in the mornings. Another year or two there, and then we were on a stint North that took us to Atara, with it's great libraries filled to the brim with books and knowledge. You were six then, old enough to read and write and know just how incredible such buildings were. We took plenty of time exploring the University, meeting with professors, learning all we could about the world. There was a whole building dedicated to maps, if you can remember that! You were blown away buy the ability to see the whole world in one place. There were maps of the world before Peach, and maps of the world after. One map stood out to us both: Seesai. So we went, taking great care not to come anywhere near Duvos on our way.

Arriving in Seesai was an enormous culture shock for us both. The heat, the smells, the colors. You loved it, entranced by the spicy foods, the colorful markets and glittering palaces, and the men and women draped in silks, gold, and fine slippers. You'd have stayed there your whole life if I hadn't hated it so much. So much finery gave me indigestion. We didn't stay long in Seesai, you'll remember, mostly because of me. I selfishly tore you away when I couldn't take it any longer.

Our next stop sent us through Barnarock, where your Aunt Kendra, my sister, lived. We spent the most time there out of any of the places we'd stayed, almost four years, I think. We'd take almost yearly trips into Highwind so you could see the City of Wind and study engineering in that small academy that only opened during the summer. You absolutely loved taking "vacations", even though our whole life was a vacation. Kendra took you to see the ocean on the weekends, when there was no class. We'd play in the sand and the water, like it was the most natural thing in the world, like nothing about us was unconventional.

I took you to see Vega 5 when you were fourteen. You'd just graduated from the academy, so it was time to introduce you to the engineering hub of the world. Amazed by the fact that an entire city could be built on top of the wreckage of an old spaceship, you promised me that one day, you would build a ship of your own and sail amongst the stars. I wonder if you ever will. I hope you do. You reminded me so much of your mother in that city. You looked so much like her- her eyes, her hair, her smile, her laugh- it was all you. It hurt to look at you some days.

But it was in Lucien that I found my calling to adventure. I never told you this part, I don't think. I didn't want to bring you along, since Lucien is heavily involved with the border strife between Duvos and Ethea, and danger is everywhere. But you convinced me that you should come along, as you usually could. It was only going to be a quick in and out visit anyway, to meet an old friend. Anyway, I met that old friend in a tavern, and he told me so about his new line of work, exploring the unknown territories and ruin diving to find old technologies. It was everything I wanted. I signed up that very day for a patrol that would take me to the Eastern Continent.

When I got home that night to find you on the couch, reading one of your many textbooks about engineering, I felt this twinge of guilt and regret. What was I thinking? Did I honestly think I could bring you along? It was so dangerous out there, what with all those living relics and monstrous creatures. You were so strong, but even you wouldn't have lasted a day out there. So I had to leave you behind. I had to.

You know the rest of the story, Beatrice. I left the day I knew you were old enough to care for yourself. You'd just gotten into university, and you had your friends, your apprenticeship in Highwind, your own life without me. You didn't need me anymore, so now it was time for me to go live my own life. I wouldn't have left if I hadn't thought you were ready for it. I taught you well, I think. No, I know I did.

You may not like me right now. You may think I'm crazy for leaving. You may think me selfish and rude and terrible. You may believe me to be the worst Pa in the world. But with all that said, please, listen to these next words and trust that they come from a place of love and care for you.

I want you to return to Portia. I want you to pack up your things, leave behind Barnarock and your life there, and return to the place you can only remember in your dreams. It's a strange request, I know. But, Beatrice, my dear, I spent the happiest years of my life there. I was twenty one myself when I first set foot on Portian soil. Portia is where I made the best of friends, met the love of my life, and built a workshop from the ground up. I want you to have that same happiness I felt during my time there. And who knows, maybe you'll spend the rest of your life there, the way I would have had things not gone the way they did, the way I would have for Clara.

Please, please do as I ask. I only want what's best for you- you know this to be true. You will thrive in Portia, I know it in my heart. Send a letter to Presley at your earliest convenience; he will coordinate your travel and accommodations. Don't leave him waiting- I've already sent a letter to the old man telling him you're coming, and I taught you better than to be uncourteous!

Sincerely, your loving Pa,

Maurice

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first legitimate fanfiction that's not a short story! If you want to read my short stories, they're over on my Tumblr, Firethebluesky, same as my handle here. I plan for this to be pretty long with a solid storyline, but just know that updates are going to be pretty sporadic (I've never been really good with deadlines or schedules!). Hope you like it!


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